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Talk about “brutta figura” -- making a bad impression, as Italians say. I was at a birthday party last night in Castiligone della Pescaia for a very pretty friend of mine. About 20 of us came for her 39th -- again.

Envious at the commercial success of Cajun, Creole, Tex-Mex and Southwestern cuisines, the folks in one part of our country are testing the waters for a new one. It's called Cascadian Cuisine. OK, I'll give you a few minutes to figure out where that might be.

With its new $500-a-bottle cost, Screaming Eagle Cabernet becomes the undisputed price leader in California. The move to raise the price for Screaming Eagle from $300 to $500 has, of course, infuriated many long-time mailing list customers.

I sat down with Bruce Jack the other day, to get caught up on things in South Africa. Jack, 36, is the owner and winemaker at Flagstone winery, and he’s what I consider a typical South African vintner: quality oriented, producing a moderate volume (about 70,000 cases a year) and focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc (the Cape’s best grapes, along with Chenin Blanc).

Hardly a week passes without us learning about a new celebrity wine connection or convert. I don’t suppose it much matters what one’s calling in life has to do with a fondness for wine. It is fascinating to see how wine works its way into both the mainstream and niches of our society.

I just got excited over a flight of Côtes du Rhône, not exactly the wines I normally get fired up over. Sure, there are plenty of good ones, and even the occasional outstanding one. They’re great with bistro fare or when you want to knock something back without paying big bucks or having to think too much about it.

It's always nice to hear from readers who discover a terrific wine because I recommended it. Recently, a blog reader exclaimed over Two Hands Shiraz Barossa Valley Bella's Garden 2004, a $50 wine that I had rated 95 points.

A couple of days ago Marco Pallanti was named the new president of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium (Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico), which boasts that it represents 96 percent of the bottled wine of the region.

Earlier this month, the Yamhill County Commission approved an application for a hilltop hotel in the Dundee Hills next door to Domaine Drouhin. It would be Willamette Valley's first luxury hotel, something the wine region has long needed.

The other night I was at a friend’s summer rental house located near my home at Il Borro near Arezzo. We were having dinner by the pool, and some local carabinieri walked down the driveway. I was a bit worried at first.

Ran into Chris Steltzner at the gym on Monday morning, and she described one weapon for the searing heat of the past few days in California, no matter, it seemed, where you were. The owner of Steltzner Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley told me about sitting out at her pool on Sunday evening, with a tumbler of ice filled with maybe a half bottle of Steltzner Sauvignon Blanc.

The only thing hotter than New York City right now (where it is a steamy 95+ degrees) might be the '03 Hermitage from Jean-Louis Chave. With production at one-third of normal levels, the wine has quickly reached stratospheric prices.

Continuing the discussion on the role of wine critics, I'd like to point out that there’s a reason why no supernova numbers-only wine guru has taken hold of the ratings game. And it’s simple. It’s because people really do read the reviews and those descriptions matter to them.

Gave my “O”s another go last night with a dinner “al fresco” with my ex-wife and children. She commented how I had some “lovely new water glasses…” These glasses sort of grow on you. I served a slightly chilled bottle of 2003 Vietti Barbera d'Alba Scarrone Vigna Vecchia with a frittata and green salad.

It has been several years since Willamette Valley vintners finally agreed on a set of six sub-appellations that would give the region's Pinot Noir producers a framework not too unlike that of Burgundy.

Just had my first experience with the Riedel “O” glass. It was the Sauvignon Blanc model. I had a barbeque tonight at my house in Tuscany with my children, Jack, 11, and Isabel, 8. We had grilled sausages and a tomato and cucumber salad – no big deal on a hot and steamy Tuscan night.

It seemed almost too good to be true. A few weeks ago I came across a magnum of Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 1989 for 435 euros on the wine list of a mega-buck restaurant, Tantris, in Munich.

I've just learned that the owner of Bordeaux first growth Château Latour, fashion magnate François Pinault, signed an agreement last week to buy close to 16 acres of prime Burgundy vineyards, planted to Pinot Noir and all near the town of Vosne-Romanée.

Football (soccer) is life in Italy. I am sitting in Castilgone della Pescia on the coast of Tuscany with some friends, and I can hear the horns of cars and the screams of people. Everyone is so happy here! Italy is the champion of the world tonight.